Plurality of bags and method of making the same

ABSTRACT

A plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches are detachably joined and provided on a roll. The bags, sleeves, or pouches may be made by joining or by folding the material and forming spaced seal and tear lines in the material. The seal and tear lines are formed in the material by a seal bar having a saw tooth surface which forms alternating sealed and cut portions and uncut portions in the material

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches. More particularly, the invention relates to a plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches that can be separated from each other along tear lines, and the method of making these bags, sleeves, and pouches.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Mass production facilities such as in the electronic, automotive parts, furniture, and small parts manufacturing industries package small items in cushioned bags, sleeves, or pouches for shipment and sale Although the material of the bag can be film, foam, or a paper or film laminate, if the item is fragile, the material is preferably cushioned Individual cushioned bags or pouches of this type are disclosed in U.S Pat. Nos. 4,087,002 and 4,011,798. These prior art individual bags, sleeves, or pouches require time and labor to select, fill and seal To overcome some of these problems in the prior art, several bags can be provided on a roll with each bag separated from adjacent bags by a line of separation These bags are formed from a sheet of film folded on itself or two separate sheets of film on top of each other. A wide seal or pair of seals are formed between each bag with one side of each wide seal or one seal of each pair forming a side seal of one of the adjacent bags A line of separation such as a line of perforations is formed between the pair of seals or along the center line of a wide seal The wide seal or pair of seals in the prior art requires a substantial amount of material when making several million bags or pouches It is desirable to use a different combination seal and tear line to save material

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention is directed to a plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches that are joined together along separation or tear lines. The bags, sleeves, or pouches are formed from material such as sheets of multiple sealed air pockets as for example, Astro-Cell® air cushioning made by Pactiv Corporation of Lake Forest, Ill., foam, film, or laminates including paper, film and foam laminates. The material is sealed to form individual bags or pouches having an open mouth cavity or open ended tubes or sleeves such as, Sleeve It® products made by Pactiv Corporation of Lake Forest, Ill. Seals are formed by a saw tooth seal bar that simultaneously seals sides of adjacent bags, sleeves, or pouches and forms a separation or tear line in the seal. By having the seals and separation or tear lines at the same location, less material is required than in the prior art. When making millions of bags, sleeves, or pouches, this savings of material results in substantial cost savings. If desired, each bag or pouch can include a flap with adhesive, coadhesives or other types of closures such that the flap can be folded over the open mouth to close the cavity

[0004] The bags, sleeves, or pouches are provided on a continuous strip with tear or separation lines between them. In this form, the plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches can be provided on a roll allowing a user to tear one or several bags, sleeves, or pouches from the roll quickly and easily

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which

[0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roll of bags, sleeves, or pouches constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention,

[0007]FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the method of making the bags, sleeves, or pouches of FIG. 1, and

[0008]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a seal bar used in the method illustrated in FIG. 2

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a plurality of connected individual bags, sleeves, or pouches 10. The plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches 10 are shown on a roll 12 which allows a user to pull one or several bags, sleeves, or pouches 10 from the roll 12 quickly and easily. Other forms of storage of the bags, sleeves, or pouches 10 can also be used such as stacking or folding them on each other.

[0010] Each bag, sleeve, or pouch 10 is formed from a web of material 19 that can be a sheet or film of a plurality of enclosed air bubbles such as, Astro-Cell® air cushioning made by Pactiv Corporation of Lake Forest, Ill., foam, film or laminates including paper, film or foam laminates. Each bag, sleeve, or pouch 10 is defined by a first side wall 16 and a second side wall 18 which can be formed by folding the material 19 onto itself as shown in FIG. 2, or it may be two pieces of material placed on top of each other. Each bag or pouch 10 thus formed includes a bottom 20, a first sealed side 22, a second sealed side 24 and an open mouth 26 which provides access to a cavity between the first side wall 16 and the second side wall 18. If a sleeve 10 is made, the bottom 20 is open to define a second open mouth 26. Objects to be placed in each bag or pouch 10 can be inserted into the cavity through the mouth 26.

[0011] If desired, the bags, sleeves, or pouches 10 can be formed such that the second side wall 18 extends beyond the first side wall 16 to define a flap 30. The flap 30 can be folded over the open mouth 26 to close the cavity and retain objects in the cavity. The flap 30 may be sealed in a folded configuration by adhesive, coadhesive, or other types of closures 32 (FIG. 2) applied to the inside of the flap 30 in a location to secure the flap 30 to the first side wall 16 when the flap 30 is folded over onto the first side wall 16. If adhesive is used, a peel sheet 34 is placed on the adhesive 32 to protect the adhesive when not in use. Once objects have been placed in the cavity of the bag, sleeve, or pouch 10, the peel sheet 34 is removed and the flap 30 is folded onto the first side wall 16 and the adhesive 34 holds the flap 30 in the closed position secured to the first side wall 16 closing the mouth 26.

[0012] The individual bags, sleeves, or pouches 10 are separated from each other by seal and tear lines 36 that may be lines of perforations or weakened portions of the first side wall 16 and the second side wall 18. Prior art bags and pouches have a wide seal between adjacent bags with a line of perforations along the center of the seal area This wide seal area provides side seals on adjacent bags or pouches and a line of perforations between the side seals along which adjacent bags may be separated Another prior art seal is a twin seal which is two parallel seals each forming a side seal of an adjacent bag and a line of perforations between the parallel seals. In contrast, the seal and tear lines 36 are single lines of alternating sealed and cut portions and uncut portions formed by a saw tooth seal bar 37 (FIG. 3). The saw tooth seal bar 37 has an elongated body that narrows from a top surface 37A to a bottom surface 37B A plurality of teeth or raised portions 39 alternating with recesses 41 are formed in the bottom surface 37B in a saw tooth configuration. The saw tooth seal bar 37 is heated and when pressed onto the material 19, the teeth or raised portions 39 cut through the material 19 while sealing the sides 22, 24 of the cut. The recesses 41, however, slightly contact the material 19 leaving that portion of the material 19 uncut. The resultant seal and tear line 36 consists of alternating sealed cuts and uncut portions such that adjacent bags, sleeves, or pouches 10 may be separated by tearing along the seal and tear line 36 The seal and tear lines 36 require less material than the wide seals or twin seals with lines of perforation in the prior art, and when making several million bags, sleeves, or pouches, there is a considerable savings in material by using the seal bar 37 of the present invention.

[0013] A method of making the bags, sleeves, or pouches 10 is illustrated in FIG. 2 The method illustrated forms bags, sleeves, or pouches with a flap, but bags, sleeves, or pouches without a flap can be made using this method by not extending one side wall In this method a piece of material 19 is shown but two pieces of material 19 can be used and bonded together. As the material 19 is advanced, a peel sheet 34 with adhesive 32 applied thereon is layered onto the material 19 The peel sheet 34 is fed off a roll 38. As the peel sheet 34 is fed from roll 38, adhesive 32 is applied to the peel sheet 34 by an applicator 40. The peel sheet 34 with adhesive 32 applied thereon is fed between a pair of rollers 42 and 44. The material 19 is also fed between the rollers 42 and 44. The rollers 42 and 44 press the peel sheet 34 onto a portion of the material 19 that will become the flap 30.

[0014] The material 19 with the peel sheet 34 is advanced into a folding assembly 46 The folding assembly 46 includes a plow or folder 48. The folding assembly 46 folds the material 19 to position the first side wall 16 over the second side wall 18 and forming the flap 30.

[0015] The folded material 19 is advanced between the saw tooth seal bar 37 and a rubber seal roller 52. The folded material 19 is intermittently stopped and the seal bar 37 is reciprocated into engagement with the material 19 and the rubber seal roller 52 to seal and cut a seal and tear line 36. The seal bar 37 is then reciprocated out of engagement with the material 19, and the material 19 is advanced a distance equal to the width of one bag,sleeve, or pouch 10. The seal bar 37 is again reciprocated to repeat the operation of forming a seal and tear line 36. The material 19 with the formed seal and tear lines 36 is then rolled onto roll 12

[0016] While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is: 1 A plurality of bags, comprising material folded over with a first part of said material overlying a second part of said material, a plurality of sealed and tear lines in said first and second parts of said material, said seal and tear lines spaced a predetermined distance from each other to define individual bags between adjacent seal and tear lines, each said seal and tear line defined by alternating sections of cut and sealed portions and uncut portions of said material.
 2. The plurality of bags claimed in claim 1 wherein said first part of said material extends beyond said second part of said material to define a flap.
 3. The plurality of bags claimed in claim 3 comprising adhesive on said flap.
 4. The plurality of bags claimed in claim 1 wherein a cavity for holding an object to be protected by said bags is defined between said first part of said material and said second part of said material 5 The plurality of bags claimed in claim 1 wherein said bags are rolled onto a roll 6 A method of making a plurality of bags detachably connected together, comprising providing bag material, folding a part of said material onto itself, and forming in said folded material a seal and tear line having sealed and cut portions of said material alternating with uncut portions of said material. 7 The method of making a plurality of bags claimed in claim 6, said step of forming a seal and tear line in said material is repeated to define individual bags between adjacent seal and tear lines. 8 The method of making a plurality of bags claimed in claim 6 wherein said step of folding a part of said material further comprises folding said part of said material to define a flap of material
 9. The method of making a plurality of bags claimed in claim 8 further comprising applying securement means to said flap for securing said flap to said bag in a bag closed configuration.
 10. The method of making a plurality of bags claimed in claim 6 further comprising providing a saw tooth configured seal bar for forming said seal and tear line in said material.
 11. A seal bar for forming a seal and tear line in material to define bags, sleeves, or pouches and the like, comprising an elongated body, said elongated body having a top surface and a bottom surface, said bottom surface having alternating raised portions and recesses in a saw tooth configuration
 12. The seal bar claimed in claim 11, said elongated body having a tapered configuration narrowing from said top surface to said bottom surface 13 A plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches and the like, comprising a web of material, said material defining first and second side walls, a plurality of spaced tear lines in said web of material defining bags, sleeves, or pouches and the like between adjacent tear lines, said tear lines defined by alternating sections of sealed and cut portions and uncut portions of said web of material 14 The plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches and the like claimed in claim 13 further comprising a flap on said second side wall extending beyond said first side wall.
 15. The plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches and the like claimed in claim 14 further comprising closure means for releasably securing said flap to said first side wall. 16 A method of making a plurality of bags, sleeves, or pouches and the like, comprising providing material, forming a first wall of said material and a second wall of said material, and forming a tear line having sealed and cut portions and uncut portions in said first wall of material and said second wall of material to at least partially seal said first wall of material to said second wall of material 17 The method claimed in claim 16 further comprising forming a flap on said second wall of said material
 18. The method claimed in claim 17 further comprising providing securement means on said flap for securing said flap to said first wall of said material 19 The method claimed in claim 16 further comprising forming said tear line using a saw tooth configured seal bar 